Bernard Claytons New Complete
Book of Breads by Bernard Clayton
Wonderful Recipes & Mr. Clayton Even Answers Customer Questions Personally!
In the 1970s, Bernard Claytons The Complete Book of Breads became
the bible for bread bakers everywhere. In the years since its publication,
however, new equipment such as dough-mixing attachments and food
processors, and new products such as fast-acting yeast and specialty
bread flour, have revolutionized the kitchen. A new era requires a new
book, and Bernard Clayton has obliged with his New Complete Book of
Breads. Here youll find 200 of Claytons original recipes from his earlier
book, all revised with modern equipment and products in mind. In addition,
Clayton includes 100 new recipes gathered during the course of his
research and travels as well as his interactions with friends and readers.
Whether youre hungry for breads, rolls, muffins, popovers, seasonal
favorites, or exotic delights destined to become favorites, youll find them
all in the New Complete Book of Breads.
Personal Review: Bernard Claytons New Complete Book of
Breads by Bernard Clayton
My Dad was famous among family and friends for his delicious bread
baking, and two of his favorite bread cookbooks were Beard on Bread and
Bernard Clayton's original Complete Book of Breads. Although I often use
my Dad's originals of these two, I also have Clayton's new edition, which is
a fabulous bread cookbook - and useful to anyone who has a love of
cooking, from the beginner to the person who has mastered breadmaking
and would like ideas from around the world.
I am particularly impressed, as Mr. Clayton personally answered a
question via phone that I had about some of his recipes - he truly is
delightful. [For those of you who don't wish to use (or cannot find) dry milk,
as in the Chopped Apple Bread recipe: eliminate the dry milk and
substitute 100% of the water with whole milk; this is true for any other

recipe that uses dry milk. Thanks for your help, Mr. Clayton, as this was
not particularly clear in the instructions about milk ingredients on p. 13.]
When speaking with others about cooking, I find many folks to be
intimidated by making bread. And, I probably would have been, too, if it
weren't for watching my Dad over the years. But I find breadmaking
wonderful - and kneading out the dough is cathartic, similar to taking a
walk outdoors. It's also a lot of fun to make bread with kids - my nieces
and nephews love playing with the dough, kneading it, and watching it rise.
And, nothing is tastier than a fresh slice of bread recently out of the oven.
So I implore you to give it a try!
Mr. Clayton does a nice job in that he provides the beginner confidence
through his words and some good basic advice as to why (or why not) a
loaf turns out well. Also, the nice thing about baking bread (vs. cakes or
other baking) is that the dough is generally very forgiving. With a new
baby, I have had to leave dough to rise longer, etc., and it still has turned
out well.
There are many pros with respect to this cookbook, some of which include:
1) Incredibly wide range of recipes using a bounty of various ingredients
(including sweet breads)
2) Great overview of the fundamentals/techniques of bread making
3) Wide range, from easy to more difficult recipes (even the most difficult
recipes are not too bad - they just take more time)
4) Very friendly, non-intimidating verse
5) Nice background on the recipes, so you feel that you're in the kitchen
with Mr. Clayton and his wife
I agree with some of the other posters that the way the editors lay out the
recipes (by hand vs. mixer vs. food processor) is not ideal, but once you
get used to the book's format, it's very easy to follow the recipes.
My all time favorite recipe in this book is Mr. Clayton's mother's rolls - with
a pat of soft butter, they melt in your mouth, so don't pass up making
these! (The recipe is Lenora's Yeast Rolls.)
It's a fine book overall, and I strongly recommend it.
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